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May all of you have the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years!

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And if you’re still stumped about what to give your loved ones this season, why don’t you check out Michael’s list of Christmas Gift Ideas from Filipino Graphic Designers¹.

1. Thank you for the mention, Michael and Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones![ back]

There’s an excellent feature on pop-up books and artists including paper engineer extraordinaire Robert Sabuda over at Pingmag¹. I’m a big fan of his as I’ve been fascinated with pop-ups ever since I was a little girl.² That fascination naturally manifested itself in our wedding invitation (have you seen it?) and my book collection which consists of dozens of children’s books, a fraction of which just happen to, you know, pop up.
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In case you want to build a pop-up book collection too, here are my three favorite pop-up books of all time for your consideration:
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Commemorative Pop-up by Robert Sabuda
Arn gave me this book as a gift while we were still dating so I keep it in its original plastic packaging for protection 🙂 The abridged text is true to Frank L. Baum’s original, and the pop-ups and illustrations don’t distract and rather enhance the unravelling of the story. The paper sculptures I featured in the above photo are, clockwise from left: (1) the glittering green and gold Emerald City (complete with 3D glasses!); (2) Dorothy meets Glinda; and (3) the launch of the hot-air balloon.
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Botticelli’s Bed & Breakfast by Jan Pienkowski
This is pure genius! You open the book a full 360 degrees, tie both ends of the book covers together using the attached ribbons and voila, it’s a 3D “bed and breakfast”. And mind you, it’s not an ordinary B&B but a fictitious inn supposedly belonging to the great Botticelli. Fifty-six great artworks are scattered throughout the ten “rooms”: try and find paintings and popular icons (like Whistler’s mother and Michelangelo’s David), and the masters themselves (clue: Vermeer is in Van Gogh’s bedroom). You can pull-out tabs, open secret doors, and unlock underground hideaways to find all hidden artworks; or you can take a guided tour courtesy of a little guidebook (but where’s the fun in that? 😉 ) This book was a lucky find at Strand Bookstore³ sometime in ’98.
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The Elements of Pop-up by David A. Carter and James Diaz
This book is for the aspiring (read: wannabe) paper sculptor/engineer. The title says it all: the book contains all the building blocks you’ll ever need in constructing whatever kind of pop-up you need or want. It lists the different types of pop-up techniques and “mechanisms” in pull-apart form in order for you to better understand how they’re made. Even if you’re not in the stationery business and simply just want to make cute greeting cards for your friends it’s a really good buy.
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By the way, I know I owe you a list of my web design heroes but for now, why don’t you check out BP’s list of The Best Designed Filipino Blogs for 2006.

1. One of my favorite online mags![ back]
2. It all started when my parents bought me a Sesame Street pop-up book when I was 8 which I’ve kept all these years, never mind that it’s now all dog-eared and dirty.[ back]
3. My favorite haunt in lower Manhattan.[ back]

Sigh, vacation’s over. Arn and I are back from Japan but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet¹. Our legs and backs still ache² from all the walking, hiking, and running after trains we did, but so what? At least we were able to bring home a lot of happy memories, pictures, and Crunky³ to last us til… well, the next chance for another holiday⁴. I’ll write a decent travelogue soon — there’s way too much I want to share about the trip but I have to finish unpacking first. Seeya later. 🙂

1. Wall of lanterns, 2. Astroboy, 3. Tendon setto at Minggei, 4. Wishing blocks, 5. Meiji Jingu Shrine, 6. Tokyo National Gymnasium, 7. Tokyo National Gymnasium, 8. Yoyogi Park, 9. Takoyaki, 10. NHK Studio Park, 11. NHK Studio Park, 12. Shibuya crossing, 13. JR train map at Tokyo Station, 14. Self-portrait at the Shibuya crossing, 15. Shibuya Station Mural, 16. Laputa Robot Soldier at the Studio Ghibli Museum rooftop garden, 17. Welcome to the Straw Hat Cafe!, 18. A side street in Shibuya, 19. Halloween masks at Tokyu Hands, 20. Manhole cover at the Ghibli Museum courtyard, 21. The “Nekobasu” (Cat Bus) shuttle service to the Ghibli Museum, 22. “Maid in Japan” girls in Akihabara, 23. Akihabara TX station, 24. Capsule toy vendos, 25. Entrance to the Ghibli Museum, 26. Postcard-pretty view of the lake at Mt. Bandai, 27. Hello, fishies, 28. Koi fish, 29. Autumn leaves in Fukushima, 30. Sticky rice balls, 31. View from the Tsurugajo Castle, 32. Tsurugajo Castle, 33. Aizu Samurai Residence, 34. By the lake at Mt. Bandai, 35. I’ve got Tokyu Hands, 36. Arn at the Design Festa Gallery
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More photos in my Multiply galleries:
* Harajuku, Shibuya, Omotesando
* Nippori, NHK Museum, Tokyo Olympic Gymnasium
* Studio Ghibli Museum
* Shibuya and Akihabara
* Fukushima Prefecture

… and in Arnold’s Flickr set.

1. I bowed and almost uttered “arigato” to the customs officer at NAIA. This is what happens when you spend two weeks in Japan. (You just gotta love the Japanese, they’re such a polite society.)[ back]
2. Ahh the signs of aging…[ back]
3. I love Crunky chocolate but only second to Melty Kiss, particularly the Matcha (green tea) flavor. Unfortunately Melty Kiss was late coming out this year so I didn’t get to hoard boxes of them like I normally do, hehe. (It only appears on the shelves during late fall and winter.)[ back]
4. Whenever that may be, sigh. Bitin![ back]